ATLANTA — Shockwaves over the murder of nightclub owner Michael Gidewon continue to ripple across metro Atlanta.
Kellen Marcus worked for Gidewon for 7 years at three of his different establishments, including where he was the co-owner of Republic Lounge in West Midtown. He said he's still in shock over the death of a man who always tried to help him.
"[A friend] was like 'hey bro, you heard?' and I was like 'what?' and he was like 'Mike [Michael Gidewon] got shot,'" Marcus said of when he first found out the news.
It seems surreal for Marcus -- the man he looked up to had been shot to death. Atlanta Police said an intoxicated customer who had been previously kicked out of the club later returned and gunned Michael down.
"It's just like a numbness, he was a former boss of mine when I was a barback," Marcus explained. "He provided jobs, you know you're providing a place that felt safe. You know what I mean? I was always in Republic, like, I stayed in that club because it really felt like a place where I was like dang it feels like home."
Marcus said Michael was a man of few words who impacted the entire Atlanta community.
"Like some people said, to just buy back part of your community and be able to have something that you stand on -- just as a man is like wow this person is really doing his thing," Marcus said.
Michael managed several nightclubs and an entertainment company with his brothers, one including Alex Gidewon.
Marcus knows all too well the realities of gun violence after losing his cousin in 2020 and now his former boss who remained a friend.
"Emotions I guess get the best of us and whatever way that you just feel like you take those things into your own hands and it's like man you took somebody that will be truly missed," Marcus said.
11Alive has reached out to several law enforcement agencies and at this time, no one has been arrested.